Tulipscent
Tulipscent is the 16th level in Dungeon Keeper. The player is connected to a Blue Keeper by a long corridor, and the objective of this map is simply to destroy the Blue Dungeon Heart. Strange initial appointments, a lopsided creature pool, and attacks by parties of high-level adventurers can make the level awkward. Tulipscent has many interesting Hero encounters and rewards, but there is little time to go exploring before Blue gets belligerent. The spell is made available for the first time, at this late stage. Earl Simon rules Tulipscent,Prima's Official Guide To Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition. p. 202. Prima Publishing. 1998. ISBN 978-0-7615-1581-4. but is missing from this level (he is apparently 'many leagues afar'). This is the final level without a Lord of the Land. Breakdown * Portal Speed: 750 Turns * Creature Pool: :: * Specials ::Multiply Creatures - northwest Hero dungeon ::Resurrect Creature - east Hero dungeon, north end ::Transfer Creature - southwest Hero dungeon * Neutral Assets :: - northwest Hero dungeon ::Gem Seam - four extra gem faces await the Keeper who captures the trapped and guarded Hero dungeon in the southwest ::Portal - near Red heart (Blue's portal is claimed from the beginning and not visible) ::Portal - main chamber of east Hero dungeon, heavily-guarded by Hero Gates ::Bugged - northwest Hero Dungeon; will start zapping at the Heroes in this area * Wandering Heroes :: 6, 8 - northwest Hero dungeon, getting wrecked by the aforementioned Trap :: 4, 5, 7 - southwest Hero dungeon :: 4, 5 - east Hero dungeon guarding approach to the Resurrect box Events Groups The main group to worry about is "ELITE", a strong party of adventurers led by a Tunneller, that will steamroll the Keepers unless some kind of countermeasure is taken. * Hero Party "ELITE" :: 6 7 8 8 9 ::This group will be generated up to three times as the Red and Blue sides reach certain benchmarks. The first occasion is when Red completes research on , and the next two triggers are when Red owns 17 creatures, and when Blue owns 17 creatures. The party that spawns on Blue's event will in fact target the Blue dungeon. The spawn point is a 3x3 gap in the center-west dirt. The group carries 10,500 gold. :: * Hero Party "ONE" :: 5 5 5 7 ::This group drops in on the player's initial approach to the Resurrect Creature box, east side of the map, in a room that already has four s. The group carries 4000 gold. * Hero Party "TWO" :: 5 5 5 5 5 ::This group warps in through a nearby Hero Gate when the player approaches the Gem Seam in the southwest Hero dungeon. Each member carries 800 gold. A copy of the next party, "THREE", might also pass through the gate 1500 turns (~80 seconds) after this one. * Hero Party "THREE" :: 6 6 6 ::This group appears if the player approaches the Multiply Creatures special in the northwest Hero dungeon and attacks any foes it encounters. Each member carries 1000 gold. * Hero Party "FOUR" :: 5 5 5 ::This party enters through a Hero Gate to the south of the neutral Portal, when Red approaches that end of the chamber. The Wizards each have 1200 gold. * Hero Party "FIVE" :: 8 2 2 2 ::This party enters through a Hero Gate to the east of the neutral Portal, when the player approaches that end of the chamber. The party carries 2900 gold. * Hero Party "SIX" :: 7 6 6 6 ::This party enters through a Hero Gate to the west of the neutral Portal, when the player approaches that end of the chamber. Whenever they don't see anything to attack, they head for the nearest . Each member carries 2000 gold. * Hero Party "SEVEN" :: 4 4 4 4 ::This party enters through a Hero Gate to the north of the neutral Portal. North is usually the player's direction of approach to this chamber, so be aware that they might pop up behind you. Each member carries 1200 gold. Walkthrough This is regarded as the trickiest level in the original campaign. This section will attempt to cover some points of interest to fulfilling the objective: destroying the Blue Dungeon Heart. All the side-activities and fluff on this level suggest a long adventure was intended. Unfortunately, Blue Keeper usually sounds the alarm and attacks after just a few minutes. An easy way to beat the level is to transfer a level 10 or something of equivalent level or strength from the previous level, possess it, and destroy the Dungeon Heart with it. Just ignore the attacking creatures, the can soak their damage. It's possible that you need more than one go. It may feel like cheating, but it's possible. Creatures Exactly two creatures, the two s in the Creature Pool, can be attracted at the beginning. It's advisable to lay down some extra and slabs immediately to draw them in. The spell allows you to do the unthinkable and *slap* the s as they train. They will get seriously irate, but can't do a thing about it. They should also be kept on . They learn their own copy of the spell at Level 5, and they don't need to train further from there. s are a most unusual entry in the Creature Pool. The full review of creatures available to Red Keeper, and their rooms demanded: * (2, shared with Blue) - 25 tiles of , 25 tiles of * (8) - 1 tile of * (20, shared with Blue) - 1 , 9 * (30) - 1 , 9 * (30) - 9 , 9 Research is so pitifully slow with the single Level 1 , and so severely punished by the map script, that the more advanced creatures might be too hard to get and not have a chance to pay off before Blue attacks. Layout There is a single open Gem face available, so lay a close-by and train 3 s to Level 3. Sell the Reapers' private suites and make an efficient , or at least take the gold out of those little s, because this gold was not actually in your treasury. It is possible, though not crucial, to breach the long gold vein running through the top-left side and secure the Multiply Creatures special while keeping the "ELITE" party walled-off. Blue might lose all of his best minions to the well-placed guarding the entrance to Red Dungeon, and your counterattack will just be a mop-up. Blue induces his minions to destroy your s with a . If you detect the , you might be able to keep the Blue creatures moving along in a tight pack by selling the doors, readying them for a good pasting with the Boulder. At least one copy of the marauding Hero party "ELITE", whose triggers are listed in the Groups section above, is likely to spawn early. People playing this map without a care for this party risk getting breached and rocked. The easiest course of action is to keep the dungeon fortified and ignore them. It is also possible, if difficult, to lure them to the Blue dungeon and let them complete your mission for you. Note that the presence of this party on the map sends Blue Keeper into a tunneling frenzy (likely his CHECK_FOR_NEUTRAL_PLACES command). Messages ;Briefing Text :"You will not find any easy path through this region. You will have to fight hard to gain any advantage. But, if you intend to rule the world, you've simply got to get through days like this." ;Player manufactures a Lava Trap :"Your manufacturers have crafted the Lava Trap." Sound Bytes Trivia *The was first available in Sleepiburgh, but the had to be captured and the asset wasn't formally introduced. *This realm's outtro makes more sense if renamed to BAD15.WAV to correspond with the previous realm, Woodly Rhyme. The outtro to level 17, Mirthshire, makes more sense if renamed to BAD16.WAV to correspond with Tulipscent. These files are in the game subdirectory \SOUND\ATLAS\. :: *Earl Simon may be a reference to Simon Carter, the lead programmer. *The names for this level in other languages are as follows: Fleury-Merosiers | row2 = Italian Tulipandia | row3 = German Tulpenduft | row4 = Dutch Tulpenburg | row5 = Polish Ogrodowo | row6 = Czech | row7 = Swedish TULPANLUKTABY | row8 = Russian Тьюлипсент | row9 = Japanese チューリプセント | row10 = Chinese 郁金花香 / 郁金花香 }} Gallery Mmap00016.png|Keeper FX Map Tulipscent_eliteparty.png|A balanced roleplaying party and very bad news. MAP00016 Multiply.jpg|Dungeon holding the Multiply special and a Chicken spell References